Growing Up Brings Changes
by nextgenwriter
Summary: “Our daddy was right,” Molly said. “Tomorrow we will be embarking on a new journey. Ten years from now we won’t be the same people we are now." Although they were still quite young, Lucy did feel as if she were saying good-bye to her childhood.
1. Diagon Alley

Summary: Twins Molly and Lucy Weasley are as close as sisters can be. They are also close to their cousins, Dominique and Roxanne. But Hogwarts changes people. Friends drift, enemies are made, and people grow. What happens when the four girls start Hogwarts, and everything begins to change?

A/N: The beginning of this story starts two years before the Epilogue in the books. I have the children's ages on my profile, but I plan to work it in the story. However, I am trying my best not to introduce too many of the Weasley characters in this chapter… I might have to rewrite this one. I'm not sure yet. I know I hate it when I read a fanfiction where there are too many characters introduced, so I am trying my best not to do it. Sometimes it's hard with the next generation though. But if you have questions about them, I have them in my profile. I also might write a "Ten things about the next Generation" just because I've always wanted to. I never have just because there are hundreds of them on FF . net. However, it will be good to have as a reference. And the more I write this story, the more I want to make one. So although this chapter has gone up, there is a chance I might tweak it a bit if too many characters have been introduced. I'm not too pleased with it, so I might tweak it anyway, but I'll let you know if I do. Oh and Charlie has children in this story (not introduced in this chapter, but will be later), even though in the interviews he doesn't. However, I've always liked Charlie so I'd like for him to have a family as well. The rest of the characters stick to the ones in the family tree and interviews though.

* * *

"What about this? Does this look good on me?" Lucy glanced up for what felt like the hundredth time that morning.

"Yes," she answered. "It doesn't matter what you wear, you always look pretty Molly."

_Probably always prettier than me_, she thought to herself as she watched her twin spin in a circle. Molly and Lucy weren't identical, they were fraternal twins. Although despite that, they were very close. Lucy had always felt that Molly was much prettier than she was, though Dominique Weasley would tell her that she was ridiculous.

"You're both very beautiful girls, I'd give anything to have your hair especially," Dominique had once told her, who was very jealous because she didn't have the Weasley red hair that most of the Weasley cousin's had inherited.

Lucy was in fact jealous of Dominique's strawberry blond hair. Instead, she had inherited the Weasley red hair, but it was thick and wavy, not straight the way she wanted it to be. She had gotten the thick hair from her mother. Molly, however had very straight hair, and perfect features. She looked a lot like their mother, who was a very beautiful woman. (Often her Uncle George joked that he was surprised her father had ended up with someone so pretty) Meanwhile, Lucy thought she looked a little more boyish since she had inherited her father's features.

Sometimes she wondered if she should have been a boy instead. Not only because she thought she'd make a better-looking boy, but because she didn't have the same interests as girls. The only person who knew this was Dominique, who was another person she was very close to. In fact at times, she felt as if she were closer to her cousin than her sister.

Her closet was full of beautiful clothes that most girls would want to wear, but she just didn't care for them. She only went along with it because Molly wanted her to. Her twin had always been her voice. Her family would even say now that her sister had done all the talking when they were little girls.

"I know," Molly said interrupting her thoughts. "There are just some things that look better on me than others."

Her sister knew she was a beautiful girl, and liked to boast about it. Their cousin Roxanne didn't help much by telling her that every time she saw her, which was almost every day.

Dominique and Roxanne Weasley were two of their many cousins, but they were all the same age. The four girls had played together at the family dinners for as long as they could remember. The other cousins were either a little older, or were close in their age but they were annoying boys who liked to play pranks. Because of all that, they had grown to be good friends over the years.

Lucy was closer to Dominique than she was to Roxanne though. Roxy had always intimidated her though. Not because of her personality, but because she seemed so sophisticated. She was a beautiful girl with light caramel skin, and thick dark hair. Unlike Molly, she didn't try either. This always aggravated her sister, who would then find something to tease their cousin about so she would feel insecure.

"You know we're only going to Diagon Alley right?" Lucy asked as she got up from her desk and stretched.

She'd been in the middle of writing out what she thought she should take with her to school. It would be hard to part with most of her belongings.

"Yes, but the press might be there," Molly said. "We _are_ a very important family. Everyone knows who we are. You know that sometimes we end up in the paper when we go out in public. Remember last Christmas?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. Of course she remembered last Christmas; no one would ever forget it because her sister always brought it up. They'd gone to Diagon Alley to replace the shoes one of their uncles had bought them, because they'd been too small. The twins happened to be wearing identical Weasley sweaters from their grandmother, when the press had snapped their pictures. They had taken off their cloaks off because it had been too warm in the shop. Molly had been mortified to be caught in her Weasley sweater.

The reporters from the Daily Prophet always got a kick out of taking pictures of the Weasley family.

"Are you two nearly ready yet?"

Lucy looked at her bedroom doorway to find her father frowning at them.

"You know at Hogwarts you won't be able to take your time getting dressed. They'll expect you to be in your classes promptly, no questions asked."

"I've been ready for a while," Lucy answered him, trying her best not to roll her eyes.

Their father was constantly lecturing them about Hogwarts. He expected them to get high grades in all their classes, to do extra credit work, and he was even lecturing them about their OWLs. Lucy didn't understand why he told them what he expected them to do in their fifth year, they hadn't even started school. Yet he wanted them to have twelve OWLs like he had.

Molly stared over at Lucy.

"You are soo not wearing _that_ to Diagon Alley! Sometimes I wonder how we're twins. It's lucky you have _me_ as a sister. I bet you'd walk around in rags if you could."

_I bet I would too_… Lucy thought to herself, but resigned, she followed her sister who was beckoning for her to follow. It was easier to do what Molly wanted than to argue with her.

---

In Diagon Alley, the twins met up with the rest of the family who were also going shopping for school. Molly automatically sought out Roxanne who complimented her, as usual.

"You look gorgeous every time I see you," Roxanne told her while Dominique rolled her eyes.

Roxanne looked as if she should be a magazine, she looked very stylish. Although Lucy never said anything, she thought that her cousin could be a model when she was older. She was wearing the newest fashion for witches robes, and her hair was done up in braids. Molly gave the girl a once over, and automatically envy appeared on her face.

"Don't you know any other hair style Roxy?" She asked.

"My mum likes for me to wear my hair this way," Roxanne answered. "And these clothes… I just want to wear normal ones, but she loves dressing me up. I don't think she realizes that I'm not a little girl anymore. She never bothers with Fred."

The four girls stuck together through out the day as their parents bought their school supplies. Lucy, Dominique and Roxanne were all looking forward to getting their wands. Molly meanwhile was looking forward to getting their uniforms. That was until she realized that they weren't really stylish at all. They were just plain black robes with the Hogwarts crest on them.

"Will I really have to wear the hat, daddy?" Molly asked as she stood in front of a floor to ceiling mirror. "I look silly."

"You are going to school to learn," their father scolded. "It isn't a fashion show. I better not hear about you slacking off."

"I won't," Molly answered. "I'm going to get the highest marks in our year. I just know I will."

"I doubt it," Dominique muttered who had already been fitted for her robes. "I can't really see her studying. She'll be too busy checking to see that her clothes aren't dirty."

Lucy wasn't entirely sure if her cousin liked Molly. Although the four girls played together nearly everyday, Dominique didn't really talk to the girl. When they were younger, the four of them had gone on really well, but as they grew older, it changed. It was usually Roxanne and Molly, and Dominique and Lucy.

"No, she's quite ambitious, and she's read through my daddies old text books," Lucy said, who had also already been fitted. "She seems very determined to be like daddy, but be the… what was it? Oh the Belle of our year."

Dominique laughed. She was easily the prettiest of the four girls, though Molly didn't like to admit it. She had Veela blood in her, so she a lot more beautiful than most girls their age. Her older sister, Victoire who was fifteen was gorgeous. Lucy knew that someday, Dominique would also be. Her cousin didn't care about clothing or dressing up though. She was a sporty girl whose goals were to get good grades, and play on the Quidditch team. She wanted to be a Ravenclaw just like her brother and sister, though Molly was determined that the four of them would be Gryffindor.

"All Weasley's with a few exceptions are always in Gryffindor," Molly had once told Dominique. "Your father was a Gryffindor."

After they were fitted for their robes, they headed for Ollivander's, the wand shop. Though the man who used to run the shop had stopped making wands years ago, it was a shop that was still in the family. The young man who produced the wands was apparently as good as his great grandfather had been. Ollivander checked in on the shop once in a while, but he had retired a few after the Battle of Hogwarts.

"I always find it strange coming in here with Ollivander gone," Uncle Bill commented now. "I hear he still makes some custom ones at home."

"I didn't even know he had any other family members," Aunt Angelina said. "They were non-existent until maybe a year or so after the war."

According to the story, the great grand son who had taken over the shop was the first to have the talent in years. The rest of the family members either had no interest in wandlore, or couldn't make a wand to save their lives. Jervis, however had taken after his grandfather, he was just as good if not better at making wands. He also used more wand combinations.

"I can take the girls in to get their wands if you want to get their books," Uncle Bill said when they were outside of the wand shop. He was busy scanning Diagon Alley which was slowly getting busier as they went on. "It will make the trip faster. Than we can meet at the joke shop."

The older cousins who had come with them hadn't wanted to stay with their parents to shop, so they had taken off right away. They were all supposed to meet them back at Weasley's Wizarding Weasley's, Roxanne's fathers shop.

"That makes sense," the twin's father said before looking at their mother. "If you want to get their parchment and quills, I can get the books. We'll just have those shipped just as we did with the cauldrons so we don't have to carry them around."

"Will we still be able to go to the Quidditch shop?" Dominique asked. "I heard the latest Firebolt is out."

"And I wanted to look at pets," Lucy said. "I want to get an owl for school. Mum, you said we could get one each."

"We'll see," their father said. "At the moment, we're here just for your school supplies. And you two only need one owl. I'll pick one up for you another day. It doesn't make sense to get two more owls when we already have one."

Lucy scowled at the ground. At times she couldn't stand sharing everything with her sister. Either they had to share it, or else everything they owned was the duplicate of the other. She didn't own any clothing that didn't look exactly as her sisters. Her toys and dolls were all the same… even their bedrooms were identical. At times she was glad that they didn't look the same, because she wanted to be an individual. She was tired of being labeled as "the twins" and not just as 'Lucy.'

"And there really isn't any point at looking brooms," Uncle Bill told Dominique. "You are starting your first year. Besides, your mother told me just to pick up what was necessary. You just had a birthday last week."

"Let's go," Roxanne told them impatiently, who was already holding open the door to the wand shop. "I want to get my wand!"

The adults spoke to each other for a few more minutes before the girls entered the shop with Uncle Bill. At first sight, it looked as if no one was in the shop. From floor to ceiling, there were narrow thin boxes stacked. Lucy glanced around the shop in anticipation. She was finally going to have her own wand!

"Welcome, welcome!" A voice said and a man maybe in his mid to late thirties appeared smiling at him.

Lucy had seen what Mr. Ollivander, the old wand shop owner looked like. She always thought he appeared to be creepy looking. However, Jervis was a very handsome man with dark hair, and blue eyes. For some reason when he grinned at her, she felt butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't the only one though. The other three girls were also staring at him with dazed looks on their faces.

"Another crop of first years," he said with a smile. "And you must be Weasley's, are you?"

He glanced at Dominique who blushed, which was very out of character for her.

"Why, I've seen you here before, haven't I? Your older brother and sister have been here to get wands. Victoire and Louis, I believe?"

Dominique nodded without answering. When he turned away, she whispered to Lucy.

"I don't remember him being that good-looking before…"

There was a small scuffle of over who was going to go first to get their wand. Uncle Bill solved that problem right away, and Dominique ended up going first, followed by Molly, than Roxanne and finally Lucy. They were all disappointed when they found out that the measuring tape did the measuring itself.

"All right, let's see…" Jervis said to Lucy when the measuring tape was finished. "I believe I have the perfect wand for you. A willow wand containing a phoenix feather, seven inches."

He handed her a wand, which she gave a wave. She didn't feel disappointed when nothing happened. The other three girls hadn't found their right wand on their first try either. Also, according to her father, wands went with the Celtic Tree Calendar. That meant she would have a wand made from Oak, the same as Molly had. The twins had been born June sixteenth. Her sister's wand core was strand of unicorn tail. Lucy wondered if hers would be the same.

"Hers will probably be an oak one," Molly suddenly spoke up. So apparently her sister had remembered what their father had said as well. "We're twins!"

"Twins are you?" Jervis asked, and he scanned their faces. "Fraternal twins? Hmm, twins seem to run in your family from what I hear," he looked at Lucy again. "And I believe I have the perfect Oak wand for you after all. This wand is one of my newest experiments, you see. While my grandfather favoured the usual wands cores… I've been trying out new ones. This wand-" and he pulled down a box from the shelf nearest to them "is an oak wand containing one hair from the Mane of a Kelpie. Excellent for most spell work, and it's eight and half inches long."

He handed the wand over to Lucy who took it with a shaky hand. Normally she didn't like boys, so she didn't understand why such an exceptionally handsome man could do this to her. He was much too old for her after all. She sighed and gave the wand a wave. Automatically, sparks erupted from her wand and there was warmth that went up her arm.

"Well, there we go Miss Weasley," Jervis said and he dropped his voice to a whisper. "That there is a special wand for someone special. I think you'll find yourself and you will do great things. My grandfather always said the wand chose the wizard, and it's true. I think there is a reason why that particular wand chose you. I'm sure you'll make your family proud someday."

Lucy knew she had a silly grin on her face as she stared back at Jervis, but she couldn't help it.

---


	2. The Time Capsule

"-and I was thinking we could bury it in our backyard," Molly was saying.

Lucy barely listened as her sister and cousins discussed where they should bury the time capsule. She was too busy thinking about the fact that they would all be going to Hogwarts the very next day. Her stomach was jumbled up with nerves; it had been for the past week.

"- Shell Cottage is probably the best place," Dominique butted in.

It had been Molly's idea for them to put together a time capsule. It was a way of saying good-bye to their childhood. It would contain some of their cherished toys, photos, and a book of memories. In the book, they had written some of their favourite memories, and they had also each written a page about themselves. At the last minute, Roxanne had added that they should write out a list of goals they wanted to achieve in the next ten years. At the moment, Lucy was thinking about that.

_In Ten Years I Want To Be…_

_Married maybe? I'll be 21, but I can't think of myself being married. _

_I want a job, but I don't know what I want to do. Maybe be a teacher?_

_I want… to… pass Hogwarts._

_I want daddy to be proud of me. Mummy already is, but daddy expects so much from us._

_I want to pass my OWLs and NEWTs_

_I want to pass my first year…_

The last sentence was what made Lucy think about Hogwarts, and how nervous she was. Would she pass all of her classes? What if she was separated from her cousins? Was she good enough to be a Gryffindor? What if she ended up a Slytherin?

"-hide it in the joke shop. We used to use the flat upstairs a lot-" Roxanne was saying.

"But then other people will find it," Molly said. "Anyways, you have to _bury_ a time capsule!"

Lucy looked over her goals. She rolled of the parchment. _Good enough _she told herself as she dropped it in the small black box on Molly's bed. They had decided to use a small box, which Molly had asked their Aunt Hermione to put an extendable charm on. Her twin had figured it would be better to make it small, because it would be easier to hide.

"Anyways, we're burying it here because it was _my_ idea. We're already here; it would be just silly to floo over to one of your houses to-"

"I think we should bury it at the Burrow," Lucy interrupted her twin. "We're all going over there tonight anyways. We've spent most of our childhood at Grandmother Weasley's, so there are a lot of memories there."

Lucy normally didn't speak up, so the others looked up in surprise. Roxanne and Dominique exchanged glances, but Molly glared at her with indignation. If there was one thing her twin didn't like, it was when Lucy didn't agree with her.

"I don't think so, Lucy," Molly finally said. "Now, as I was saying, we're already here. Now last night, I picked out a suitable spot. I think by our black garden. Mummy, Lucy and I worked really hard on it. It's so pretty, and I think it's fitting that we put it there."

The four girls were sitting cross-legged in a circle on the bed, with the time capsule in the middle of them. Molly, however jumped from her bed and hurried to her window. She parted the pink curtains and pointed out the window.

"By the fence there, come here and see how-"

"I agree with Lucy," Dominique said. "I think we should bury it at the Burrow. We've done _everything_ there. The whole entire family has. Most of the weddings have been there, everyone's birthday parties… all the family get-together's…"

Roxanne was nodding.

"Right by the pond!" She exclaimed. "There are some rocks there we could bury it between. It might be hard to find it ten-years from now but there is a spot I am thinking-"

Molly looked furious. In all the years that the girls had been friends, it had been she who always made the decisions. She had always been the bossy one, and did not like when anyone disagreed with her. Lucy glanced over and thought she sensed one of her twin's famous temper-tantrums.

"I _said_ we're burying it here!" She shouted. "Someone might find it at The Burrow. Everyone will know what we're doing if we bury it over there. The younger cousins will take it out later and-"

"That's why we were planning to ask one of the adults to put a charm on it," Roxanne told Molly calmly. "It was _your_ idea to do that."

"It's not just up to you anyways!" Dominique shouted.

She jumped off the bed to face Molly, she scattered a few blank parchments as she went.

"This is a group decision, not Molly Weasley's decision. I am so sick and tired of you always bossing us around. Every time when we play a game, it's you who decides what we should do. Well you know what? You're not making this decision yourself. We, Roxy, Lucy and I think we should bury the capsule at Grandmum's and Grandpa's… you've been out-voted!"

Lucy stared down at the bed spread. She couldn't stand it when they all argued. She didn't like confrontations, and hated to be forced into one. Dominique was the one who would always stand up to Molly. The bed moved as Roxanne climb off to intervene if she had to.

"Now let's just talk about this calmly," Roxanne said. "Let's not fight girls. We're making this capsule for us to look back on when we're older. We don't want to remember that we were fighting, do we?"

In the end, after Molly shouted some more, it was decided that they would bury it at The Burrow. It had taken Roxanne sometime to calm her down, and to convince her that it was good idea. Lucy had stayed quiet during the entire fight. She had to wonder exactly how many times this would happen at Hogwarts.

"Your sister is a spoiled brat," Dominique said breaking into Lucy's thoughts later. "She has to learn she isn't always going to get her own way. Louis and Victoire have both told me about Hogwarts. She won't want to throw a temper-tantrum at school. No one will want to be friends with her. I bet people will want to fight her. I've tried telling her that, but of course _she's_ never wrong."

"Well to be fair, daddy has always spoiled us. He always gives us what we want," Lucy said.

It was something Grandmother Weasley had commented on. Their father always gave them what they wanted. According to their grandfather, he came off as tough, but he was a softy when it came to his twin daughters. If Molly threw a temper-tantrum, she almost always got what she wanted.

"You're nothing like Molly," Dominique muttered. "I don't know how you're twins."

_We're twins, but we aren't the same person. _Lucy thought to herself. "I don't know," she said with a shrug.

---

Lucy picked at her dinner while she listened to the conversations around her. They were all at Grandmother Weasley's. The younger cousins were all shouting and laughing. The adult's were all talking about work, or Hogwarts. The older cousins were discussing their classes. Molly was talking to their Aunt Hermione about all the classes she wanted to take when she started her third year.

"I wouldn't advise taking all the classes."

"I want to get twelve OWLs, and I am going to get O's in all of them," Molly said.

Lucy couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her sister was certainly an ambitious girl. She sighed and looked around the table. All she cared about was working hard enough to pass the classes. The thought of taking twelve classes, and getting all Outstanding's in them scared her.

"Are you all right dear?"

Lucy looked up; she was sitting beside Grandmother Weasley, who had been talking to her Uncle Harry moments before.

"I'm fine," Lucy answered.

"Nervous about school tomorrow?" Grandmother Weasley asked.

Lucy had no problem admitting this to her grandmother, so she nodded.

"A bit yes," she answered.

"Well, you'll be fine dear. You'll meet new friends, and you'll have a lot of fun. I know I enjoyed Hogwarts when I went, and so did all of your aunts and uncles."

Lucy nodded again. She had heard from everyone just how fun Hogwarts was. For some reason it didn't help with her nerves though. She was sure it was because it would be the first time she'd be separated from her parents for so long. Ten months was a very long time to be away from home.

"I'll take care of her Grandmother," Molly suddenly spoke up. "We're all going to be in Gryffindor together-" she said indicating Roxanne and Dominique as well "and we'll all be there for each other."

"I _might_ be a Ravenclaw," Dominique said.

"The chances of that are slim to none," Molly spoke up. "Weasley's are always in Gryffindor."

Lucy stared down at her plate as her cousin swelled up with indignation.

"What's that supposed to mean? _Slim to none?_ My sister and my brother were sorted into Ravenclaw so not _all_ Weasley's are Gryffindor's," Dominique said angrily. "Are you calling me stupid?"

The two girls had been at it all day. After the argument in Molly's room earlier, they had spent the rest of the day arguing about the smallest things. Lucy knew her twin didn't mean anything critical about Dominique. Her sister just had a belief that the four of them would be best friends for all seven years at Hogwarts. She wanted the four of them to share the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, and be known around school.

"_We'll be the popular girls in our year; everyone will want to be us. We'll only talk to those who matter! We'll have all the boys wanting us," Molly had told her months ago._

"_You read too many fiction books Molly," Lucy had said. "That stuff doesn't happen in real life."_

"No of course not. I know you're a very smart girl. Aunt Hermione was in Gryffindor and she's very smart. I just meant because the four of us_ have_ to be in Gryffindor together!" Molly exclaimed.

"You said the chances of me being in Ravenclaw are slim to none, so what's that supposed to mean exactly then? Why is it slim to none?" Dominique asked.

Thankfully, down the table, their father suddenly stood up and clinked his glass. The conversations died down quickly, and every eye was on him. Dominique sat back and folded her arms. She looked angry.

"I just wanted to make a toast," he said. "For the last six years, the newest generation of Weasley's have been at Hogwarts-" he stopped to pause as he looked at Teddy Lupin, who wasn't a Weasley, but considered part of family down to their cousin Patrick "and now, I am pleased to announce that my girls are part of that group. Tomorrow, I will be saying good-bye to my twin girls Molly and Lucy-"

"Percy, you're announcing this as if we didn't know," Uncle George suddenly said. "It isn't as if you haven't been talking about it for the last six months. We also know their names."

"I wanted to make a toast to my girls," their father said with a scowl on his face. "Now, as I was saying. I will be saying good-bye to my girls as they embark on their journey. By the time they are finished, they'll have found themselves. They will be going out into the world as productive adults ready to leave their mark in this world. Seventeen years ago, we all fought in a war to make it possible for the children of the future to go to Hogwarts. I am proud to know that my children will be part of that freedom we all fought for."

Lucy felt a little embarrassed, but also proud and more hopeful. Some of the cousins had been snickering before, but now they all looked serious as the war was brought up. Everyone at the table knew that the war had been important, and they also all knew that they had lost an important family member.

"So to Molly and Lucy," their father said and then as if remembering he added quickly: "and of course to Dominique and Roxanne!"

There was some polite clapping around the table. A couple of people let out loud whoops.

"While we're making announcements and toasts," Uncle Bill said after the table quieted down. "As you all know, Victoire is starting her fifth year. What you didn't know is that she was made prefect this year!"

There was a louder applause this time, and Lucy noticed that her grandmother was dabbing at her eyes. Announcements about her family members always caused her to grow emotional.

"Who wants to be prefect?" James was muttering to Fred Weasley, though he was clapping as well.

"I would also like to announce that Teddy here was made Head Boy!' Uncle Harry said.

Lucy was relieved when the dinner was finally over to get away from all the noise and 'congratulations' from all the family members. It wasn't that she wasn't proud, because she was; she just found it all very overwhelming. When they were all done eating, she walked off quickly before the cousins could engage her into a game of tag.

She instead hurried over to the large pond in her grandmother's yard. She stood afar to watch as the adults all gathered around to continue to congratulate Teddy and Victoire. She wondered if they would be doing the same in four years for her. Would she have what it took to be a prefect? _Probably not, Molly will get the honour of Gryffindor Prefect. _She scowled down at the ground at that thought. Her twin would probably always outshine her.

"That was embarrassing," Dominique said which caused Lucy to jump. She hadn't heard her cousin approach.

"Daddy always does that," Lucy said. "Actually he made a speech about us coming last year too, didn't he?"

Dominique nodded and cleared her throat. "I am pleased to announce that a year from now my twin daughters Molly and Lucy will be starting Hogwarts next year."

They both laughed. It seemed that at every milestone her father had to make an embarrassing announcement or toast. He always made sure to say their names, as if he were introducing them for the first time.

"He means well," Lucy finally said.

"I know, I'm just glad my father doesn't do that," Dominique said. "Although I imagine if I'm prefect… god forbid, that he'll do the same thing."

"You don't want to be prefect?" Lucy asked surprised by this.

Dominique shrugged. "If I am, than I am. Honestly, I'll be too busy with Quidditch and homework."

"Molly will be the Gryffindor prefect. I don't have the chance. It's always a boy and a girl chosen from each house, isn't it?" Lucy asked.

At the moment, her twin and Roxanne were part of the group talking to Victoire and Teddy.

"Who says you'll be Gryffindor?" Dominique asked. "There are four houses at Hogwarts, not one. Look at my brother and sister…"

"Yes, but your mum didn't go to Hogwarts. Perhaps she was Ravenclaw material though, and they took after her. My mum was a Gryffindor, and so was my father," Lucy answered. "I think I'll be sorted there too."

Dominique didn't answer. Instead, the two girls began looking for a good spot for the time capsule. They found an area beside a large boulder that they thought looked good, when Molly and Roxanne finally arrived.

"Ooh, I like it," Roxanne said. "It's a pretty rock, and we'll always remember it."

Molly seemed to agree as well, because she didn't argue. Instead, she held the small box out to them.

"Well, it has all the proper charms on it. Daddy made it waterproof, but Aunt Hermione made it so no one but us can open it. She said if we want, she can make it so no one else can dig it up either. She's watching from over there."

Lucy looked over to where Molly was pointing. Aunt Hermione, and their Aunt Ginny were at a picnic table talking. When they noticed Lucy watching, they both waved. She waved back before turning back to her friends.

"All right, so I'm just going to go grab a shovel then," Dominique said.

When they had dug a spot deep enough, Molly placed the box down into it. Lucy stared down at it. This would be the last time she'd see it for ten years. She wouldn't see anything it contained until she was twenty-one years old. That seemed to be such a long way off. She reached out to take Dominique's hand, and then her twin's. The girls stood in a circle holding hands.

"Our daddy was right," Molly said. "Tomorrow we will be embarking on a new journey. Ten years from now we won't be the same people we are now. That box contains all that we are now…"

Although they were still quite young, Lucy did feel as if she were saying good-bye to her childhood. As she said good-bye to the little black box, she felt as if she was already a different person… and she didn't understand why.


	3. The Sorting

Lucy's legs were shaking as she followed her fellow first years into the Great Hall. The whole day seemed to have gone by quickly up until that point. Her parents getting her up early, breakfast, getting onto the train, the train ride… which she had spent the majority of the ride in silence. Only Molly had really talked up a storm.

She barely remembered the boat ride over the lake… all she could think about was how nervous she was. They were led into the Great Hall by an elf-like teacher, Professor Flitwick who had a squeaky voice. He seemed to be quite along in his years, but he was very energetic. She knew he had taught her parents as well.

The first years were led into a large room where thousands of candles floated overhead. There were five tables, four for the students, and one for the teachers. The teachers table faced the students at the top of the hall, while the house tables were set in vertical rows. There were hundreds of eyes all on the first years, and in front of each person at a table was a golden plate.

They were led behind a stool with a very old, and somewhat burnt hat on it. Lucy remembered hearing the story of how the Sorting Hat had been set on fire. Most people were surprised that it had survived, but there it was, still sorting seventeen years later.

"Quiet down please," Professor Flitwick called out to the Great Hall where the students were all talking.

Lucy risked a look at everyone to see if she could locate any of her cousins or Teddy, but she didn't see anyone she recognized. She looked up at the ceiling instead, the feeling of hundreds of eyes on her was overwhelming. The Great Hall was enchanted to look like the sky. It was a beautiful night, and she could see into space for ions.

"When I call your name, you'll put on the hat. When it calls out your house, you'll sit down at the appropriate table," Professor Flitwick told them after the hat had sung a song about the four houses.

Lucy was still staring up at the stars. Why did she have to have a last name that started with a W? She wished she had a name that began with the letter A instead. Her legs trembled as each person went up, and her stomach felt as if it hurt. It was a relief when Professor Flitwick finally called out:

"Weasley, Dominique."

Dominique gave Lucy's hand a reassuring squeeze before she hurried to the stool. Lucy looked away from the ceiling to watch her cousin be sorted. It didn't take long before the hat called out:

"RAVENCLAW!"

Lucy felt some disappointment. She knew she wasn't Ravenclaw material. She watched as Dominique hurried over to the applauding table. She sat down next to a girl with long blond hair. Would that be her cousin's new best friend?

"Weasley, Lucietta," Professor Flitwick said.

Trembling even more now, Lucy made her way up to the stool. She sat down on it, and Professor Flitwick (who had to stand on a stool himself) dropped the hat on her head.

"Ah, _another_ Weasley. I expect I'll be sorting a lot more of you over the next few years. Now, let's see here. Where should I put you? Although I can see that you would like to be a Gryffindor, I don't really see that as the house for you. Sure, you can take risks, but only if you have to. You have to be _badgered _in order to fight. You also appear to be a hard-working person, and loyal. You want more than anything to be separated from your twin sister-" _No I don't _Lucy thought. "Oh, it's all here in your head. You want to be known as Lucy Weasley, not Lucy and Molly. You want to be an individual. You want to make your own choices for clothes… and life. I think the best place for you is HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hufflepuff was the last place she expected to be sorted into. As she walked over to the applauding table in the middle on the left, she couldn't feel disappointment. She knew that there was no way Molly could be sorted there. She would miss her twin an awful lot, but maybe this was what she needed. She knew she'd feel homesick, but she wasn't upset by the hats decision. She sat down at the table beside a girl with curly black hair.

"Weasley, Molly!" Professor Flitwick shouted.

Lucy watched as Molly flounced up to the stool. She glanced over at the Hufflepuff table before the hat was dropped on her head. It seemed to take almost a minute before the hat shouted:

"SLYTHERIN!"

Lucy's mouth dropped open, as did Molly's. In fact, a lot of people's mouths were open. It took a few moments before the Slytherin table began to applaud for her. Lucy watched as her twin cast a look over at the Gryffindor table, before she squared her shoulders, held her head up high, and then walked very quickly over to the table on the far left.

Roxanne was the final person to be sorted. She was put into Gryffindor. Lucy thought it was strange that the four of them had been sorted into different houses. She definitely hadn't expected that to happen.

A woman who looked to be in her late sixties stood up, and smiled as she gazed around the Great Hall.

"Good evening everyone. I would just like to just make a few announcements before we begin the feast. For those of you who don't know, I am Professor Dreneya Awra, your new Headmistress. Last year, Professor Minerva McGonagall retired, and I was selected to take her place. I met a few of you last year, and I look forward to getting to know the rest of you.

Now for school news. As most of you should know, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds for students. Hogsmeade weekends are only open to students in the third year and above on designated weekends.

I would also like to introduce you to our new Head Boy and Girl this year. From Gryffindor house is Theodore Lupin, and from Ravenclaw is Krystal Wood-" there was polite applause all around the room. "I believe that is all for the announcements. So, enjoy the feast!"

Lucy had heard that the food appeared on the plates in front of them, but she still couldn't help but feel surprised to see it all happen anyway. There was delicious food all around them, and she wasn't sure what to choose from first. After considering for a moment. She chose some chicken, and some potatoes.

"You've got quite the family," the girl with black curly hair said to her as she began to eat. "Are all three of those girls your sisters?"

Lucy shook her head and swallowed a mouthful of potatoes.

"No, only Molly is. She is my twin sister. Dominique and Roxanne are my cousins," she didn't want to point out that it was obvious that Roxanne _wasn't_ her sister.

"You must be Muggleborn," a girl with brunette hair across from them said. "Everyone knows that the Weasley family is huge. They're related to the Potter's after all. Are any of _them_ here yet?"

Lucy shook her head, and though she didn't want to, she explained her family to the two girls. She had a feeling that the girl across from them knew all of this. There were certain people who knew too much about them. She felt sorry for the Potter cousin's; they would get it a lot worse when they came to school.

"I know your family, or at least the Potter's. They are my second cousin's. We don't see each other often. In fact, it's been years since we last saw them. I only just saw Harry recently because my dad wanted to know what to do when I got the letter. Harry took my dad and me around to get my stuff. My grandparents aren't too happy that daddy let me come. In fact, they tried to talk him out of it. My name is Margaret Dursley," a chubby girl with long blond hair said.

Lucy stared at the girl for a moment. She had heard about her Uncle Harry's childhood. Apparently his aunt and uncle hadn't treated him very well, and they had encouraged his cousin to beat on him. However, later he and Dudley reconciled, and although they weren't really good friends, they were on speaking terms. She also knew that James and Albus didn't get along with their second cousins. Albus had said it was always awkward to see them, so they had stopped visiting.

"You're related to the Potter's too!? Wow. I am Lynette Vane. My mother and your uncle dated while they were in Hogwarts. In fact, she says they were a hot item until Ginny Weasley came in and stole him from her."

Lucy frowned, but didn't say anything. She remembered hearing a story that involved her Uncle Ron, a love potion and a girl named Romilda Vane. She had a feeling that Lynette was lying, a lot of women claimed that they had dated her uncle. It was hard to know who was telling the truth and who wasn't.

"Uncle Harry didn't mention that you were coming," Lucy said to Margaret.

Margaret just shrugged.

Lucy wasn't sure why he would have though. She helped herself to some chicken as Lynette started to ask more questions about her family.

---

Lucy didn't get the chance to see Molly until the next day in Herbology. The Hufflepuff's had it first thing in the morning, and they shared it with the Slytherin's. By that point, she had gotten really friendly with both Margaret and Jane (the girl with black curly hair). As it turned out, Jane was Muggleborn, so Lucy found herself constantly answering questions about the Wizarding world. Margaret seemed to know some things, but asked a few questions as well.

The three girls entered Green House one together when Molly ran straight over to them.

"Lucy! You don't hate me, do you?" Molly asked with a terrified expression on her face.

Margaret and Jane seemed to sense that the girls wanted to talk on their own, because they walked over to where a group of other Hufflepuff's had formed. Lucy stared at her twin feeling shocked.

"No, of course not. Why would I hate you?"

"Because I was sorted into Slytherin," Molly said. "Some people are kind of prejudice about us… even I was. The four of us used to talk about how terrible it would be to be sorted there… but I think I like it! The girls I met seem really nice… although they've asked far too many questions about our family. The Common Room is brilliant! I didn't think it would be so cool!"

"Well, that's all that matters then," Lucy said. "No one is going to think less of you for being in Slytherin."

"All right girls, enough chit chat," someone said.

They turned to see Neville Longbottom (or Professor Longbottom) had entered the Green House. Molly and Lucy had known him their whole lives, and although they knew that he was a teacher, it would still be strange to think of him as one.

Lucy quickly hurried over to where the Hufflepuff's were all standing while Molly made her way over to the Slytherin's, who were all standing at the opposite end of the Green House.

"All right, so first things first, let me take attendance," Neville called out to them.

It wasn't until lunch that the four Weasley girls managed to get some time together to talk. After they had eaten, Lucy, Margaret and Jane went out to the court yard to find them. They were already together on a bench, talking. Lucy bid good-bye to her new friends and hurried over to them. There would be time for introductions later. At the moment, she wanted to hear how Dominique and Roxanne were.

"So who would have thought we'd all be in different houses," Roxanne said as soon as Lucy sat down.

"I didn't expect it," Lucy answered. "I didn't expect Hufflepuff. I'm not disappointed though. Our Common Room is great. We have tunnels leading to our dormitories, and it's really quite cozy. I share my dorm with five other girls, but I only talk to two of them. The other three are quite silly. You'll never believe who was sorted into my house though!"

And she proceeded to tell them about Margaret Dursley. As she explained the girl to them, Molly scowled at her.

"You're actually going to hang around that girl? You did hear the stories about Uncle Harry's childhood didn't you? They locked him in a _cupboard_!" Molly exclaimed.

"Uncle Harry has forgiven them… well, Dudley at least. They speak once and a while don't they? He's even had his kids meet them. I doubt he'd be upset by our friendship," Lucy answered calmly.

"Anyways, it wasn't Margaret who did it," Dominique said with narrowed eyes. "Haven't you learned anything from our family? You shouldn't judge a child based on their parents actions!"

It was a lesson that the entire family had been drilling into their heads since they were small children. Lucy agreed with the lesson, because she knew that her father had walked out on the family years ago. She knew that he regretted it a lot, just as Dudley Dursley regretted his actions. She didn't want people to think that _she_ would walk out on family just because of a disagreement.

"All right fine, if you're going to be that way," Molly said. "I suppose I'm talking to some girls whose parent's made some… bad choices. I'm kind of worried about them. They seem as if they are nice girls, but their parents _did_ support Voldemort."

The Weasley and Potter children, in fact a lot of the children in the post war generation could say the Dark Lords name. In the past, most people had called him You-Know-Who, but over the years they were able to say it. Most of the parents had taught their children not to have fear in the name, even if the man had been scary. It had been under the influence of Harry Potter that people changed.

"Yes, but you have to give people the benefit of the doubt," Roxanne said. "From what I've heard, the Slytherin house is different. Oh they still have some of their prejudice's, but it isn't as bad as it was before the war. Mostly the older students say they are bullies."

"Well, I'm happy in Ravenclaw," Dominique said. "The view is beautiful, and the Common Room is as well. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, and I've already made a few new friends."

Lucy felt some jealousy when Dominique said that, but she pushed it away. Of course she knew that her cousin would find new people to talk to. As Molly talked some more about her new friends, Lucy wondered why she didn't feel jealous that her twin had met new people.

"I've heard the last name Goyle from somewhere," Roxanne said. "Wasn't her father a Death Eater or his parents were?"

Lucy tried her best not to scowl at the girl. Had she not just preached about giving people the benefit of the doubt? Now she was staring at Molly with horror as she spoke about her new friend.

"Well, her grandparents were, but she doesn't have those views. Her parents used to have them, but they changed after the war. They didn't want Patty to grow up in the world they did," Molly explained. "She's a rather… large girl, and I think she could do with a makeover but she is nice. A bit too ambitious, but that's fine."

"Well, she's the perfect friend for you then," Dominique said. "You're too ambitious at times. I guess that explains why you're in Slytherin. Tell us more about the Common Room though, is it really under the lake?"

Lucy wasn't sure, but she thought there seemed to be something pushing its way between the girls. She didn't know why, but she felt a little worried that they wouldn't always be as close as they were now. Little did she know at that moment, she did have reason to worry.

* * *

A/N: Please review. Margaret Dursley was unexpected. I had not planned on having Dudley's kids be in this. Lucy was going to be best friends with Jane, and that's it. However, Margaret came up as I was writing this, so I added her in, and now I have a lot of ideas for her. There are also going to be Death Eater kids in here (like Patty Goyle) but they aren't going to be too bad. I keep up with the interviews from JK Rowling, and she said that there has been some change in the Slytherin house in the nineteen years. So that's the way I'm writing it. They still have their prejudice, they probably always will but it's not as bad as it was. Mudblood isn't thrown around as much as it had been. It's going to be mainly friendly house competition, even though Slytherin will have it's idiots… but all four houses probably will. I just wanted to add that part in for people, just so you don't automatically hate or worry about some of the death eater children. And I'm not going to have Molly turn into a dark witch.

If you want to know where this story is going, I have written a "Ten things about the Next Generation" story to go with this. It's basically each of the new children, and their futures. I will be adding more characters to that.


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